Surgical instrument.



B. D. LA FORCE.

- SURGICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED IAN. 2l. 1918.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.'

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BURDETTED. LA FORCE, 0F OTTUMWA, IOWA. "l

SURGICAL Ins'.rnulvnnvir.l

To all 'whom it may concern: v 1

i Be it known that'I, BURDETTE D. YLA F onor, a citizen of the v,United States'and a resident of Ottumwa, county Vof Wapello, and State ofIowa, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

lMy invention relates to Vsurgical instruments' and especially toa device adapted to operateupon or remove pharyngeal tonsils or adenoids, faucial and lingual tonsilsand other more or less pedunculated growths, of

similar size, growing from diflicultly ac'- cessible portions of the throat and Vnasal passages. i

Among the objects of my invention is the provision of an instrument that is provided atopposite ends with more or less boxlike structures that are adapted to t over or receive the portion of the growth that is to be operated upon. Another object is the provision of'an instrument that is provided at both ends with' devices for operating upon the growth, whichV devices are' actuated by commonfmeans. Still another object is `the provision of an instrument of this character that is compact in construction and is so assembled that the divers parts may be readily separated, the one from the other,

. for the purpose of cleansing andsterilizing.

It is 'also an object of my invention to provide an instrument that is double-ended, and to this end I provide a central finger-piece and a pivoted arm adaptedto be swung in one direction or the other, for the purpose of operating with either end. vOther objects will be apparent to those skilled inthe art,

after an understanding of my invention is had, and'for which understanding, I now refer to the accompanying drawings that form a part of this specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal top plan' of my improved instrument.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Y

The instrument preferably comprisesV a longitudinally elongated bar 5, provided intermediate its ends with a pair of lateral extensions which are provided with nger openings 6 6, into which the index and second vngers of the operators hand are adapted to be inserted to operate the instrument. The bar 5 may be straight, as shown, or it may be `curved throughout its length,

applicati@ inea Jan'ua15y21,1918. serial irq. 213,011".v

, Speccationof Letters Patent. l Pjentedseph 17918.

or the ends may' beihooked, as be foundv mostexpedient.v The ends of the barv 5 are preferably widened, as shown at 7 lthe longitudinal edges 'whereof are provided? with upstanding ribs 8, that have vfacing, slots `or grooves 8, 8a, disposed` along the: inner surfaces thereof. TheV outer ends of these ribs 8 extend along thel sides to formA the sidewalls 9, 9,' of the structures'V that engage the membrane or growth to be oper-A ated upon and said side-walls are likewise provided with continuations of the grooves 8"?. It'may be found desirable, and'in some cases necessary, to providefrearwalls 10 that are formed by' providingV a web connecting a portion or all of'the side-walls, thus providing a box, as shown, havingv its front or downwardportionY open between theside-walls 9, and4 having the upper part or back of box partly open or' closedfas shownr.- Y Y i Slidably mounted upon, the bar V5,'Vis :a carrier plate 11, thathas a blade A12 ateach end. The carrier plate 11 is substantially the same width as plate ian'd the blades are wider than thesame, so that the edges of the said bladeswill fit into the grooves 8f* and'their continuations in the side-walls 9. Theblades 12 maybe 'of flexible steel, .or the like, to provide knives for cutting they growth or may be blunt platesv thatT provide hemostats orA Crushers. yIn either instance n the operating edge is disposed upon the outer ends so that when the carrier 11 'is moved longitudinally, the cutting edge of the knifeV or the crushing .blade will'pass across' or throughfthe opening formed in the front of the box. Theblades arefseeured upon the' ends of the carrier plate 11. by means of pins 13, so that they may be readily disconnected and removed from the carrier plate, or blades of different thickness j may lbeV supplied. When a cuttingiblade is used it is provided with a kshoulder 12a,.so ythat 'it will abut the adjacent ends of :thesides to prevent the Y knife edge passing beyond the outer end of the guide grooves 8.V Y i In order. toV movethe carrier .plate longitudinally, it is essential to provide a suitableV member that may be engagedrby'the thumb ofthe operator, and torthis end I provide a suitable arm 14, the laterally 'exi tendedfend' whereof Lisjprovided with a thumb-ringl, and said arm is pivotally mounted upon the slidingv plate 11 by'means lof a pivot 16, shown infdetail in Fig. 2. VThe p carrier plate is adapted to be limited' in its longitudinal movement by means of lugs 17, that project outwardly and downwardly from said slide plate 11, and are adapted to engage shoulders 17a formed at the inner ends of the widened portions 7 of the bar 5. rIhe pivoted arm 14 has its outer end held in position by means of a suitable lug 18, projecting downwardly from its underside, as shown in Fig. 2, which'lug is adapted to seat in one of the recesses 19, 19, formed on the upper surface of carrier plate 11 adjacent the ends, and in order to permit said lug to ride easily into its recess, the sides ofthe carrier plate 11 are beveled, as shown at 20 in the drawings. l

In operating, it is frequently found necessary to employ different sizes of boxes and blades, owing to the divers sizes of the growths to be removed. For this reason, the boxes formed at the ends of the bar 5 are made in two sizes and, consequently, larger or smaller blades will be employed and the surgeon need only provide himself with two such instruments so that at least `four` sizes of boxes and blades will be at, hand. In practice, theosurgeon places his index and second fingers in the openings 6, and his thumb in the ring 15, and moving the thumb and fingers away from each other, the carrier lplate 11 and blades will be moved thereby. The instrument is then in position to be used by resting the box over ythe growth. The thumb is then moved toward the fingers and the growth will be severed, if a knife blade is used, or crushed if a dull blade is used. When it is desired to employ the smaller box, at the opposite end, the thumb ring l5 is raised slightly to move the lug 18 out ofthe recess 19 and the arm 14 is then swung on its pivot until the lug rides over the beveled edge 20, at the opposite end of the instrument, and snaps into its-opposite slot 19, whereupon the oppositeend of the instrument may be used in the same manner as above described. The parts may be readily separated and the carrier plate 11 removed from thebar 5 by raising the carrier at one end away from the blade and then moving the carrier toward that end of the instrument until one pair of inwardly cut recesses 21 comes opposite the retaining pins 22, whereupon the carrier plate can be lifted olf the bar 5, as will be obvious.

I have, for the purpose of convenience in illustrating my instrument, shown the same as provided with a knife or cutting blade at each end, coperating with respective structures that are adapted to engage the-membrane or growth to be operated upon, but it is well known that a Crusher or hemostatic blade may be substituted for thelnife or cutting blade without materially departing from the principles involved in my invention. It will also be understood that the structure for' engaging the growth may be modified for this purpose by extending it at the end of the bar 5 substantially in the same plane thereas, so as to accommodate the comparatively rigid blade employed in the hemostatic operation. It will also be obvious that in lieu of the reversible arm 14 and its thumb-ring 15, heretofore described, I may employ a thumb-ring at each end of the movable carrier, the same being made integral therewith or Vsecured thereto in any suitable manner. I therefore desire it understood that I do not restrict my invention to an instrument for performing a cutting or shearing operation in view of the modifications I have above pointed out, and I do not wish it to be understood that the appended claims are restricted or limited to the precise structure I have illustrated in the drawings.

Vhat I claim as new is 1. A surgical instrument comprising an elongated bar, boxlike structures projecting laterally from the ends thereof the outer portions whereof are open and are provided with grooves in their opposite walls, facing grooves in the ends of said bar that form continuations of the grooves in the box walls, laterally disposed loops intermediate the ends of said bar adapted to receive the fingers of the operator, a reciprocable carrier having limited movement on said bar, cutter blades on the ends of said carrier and adapted to reciprocate in said grooves, a swinging arm pivotally mounted on said carrier and provided with a loop adapted to receive the thumb of the operator, and means for retaining' said arm at the end of its movement in either direction.

2. A surgical instrument comprising an elongated bar, structures at opposite ends thereof adapted to engage the tissues to be operated upon, a reciprocable carrier movable yon said bar the ends of which enter said Vstructures and are moved across the same,

and an arm mounted on the carrier adapted to be positioned upon either side of said transverse member and engaged by tbe thumb of the operator.

3. A surgical instrument comprising an elongated bar, boxes at opposite ends thereof each provided with an opening in its wall, a reciprocable carrier movable on said bar, blades on the ends of said carrier coacting with said boxes and adapted to be moved across the openings therein, and a reversible finger grasp pivotally mounted on said carrier.

1l. A surgical instrument comprising an elongated bar,'boxes formed integrally adjacent the ends thereof, blades coacting with said boxes, and means adapted to be positioned in proximity to either' end of said bar and engaged by the fingers of the operator whereby either end portion of the instrument is .capable of being employed in performing a cutting operation.

5. A surgical instrument comprising oppositely disposed boxes each having a co-` acting blade, means connecting said boxes, and devices for actuating said blades including an element capable of being positioned in proximity to either of said boxes whereby either end of the instrument is adapted to be employed in performing an operation.

6. A surgical instrument comprising oppositely disposed boxes each provided kWith oppositely disposed guides, a reciprocable blade movable in the guides of each box, means connecting said boxes, separate means connecting said blades, linger members on said box connecting means, and a finger member mounted on said blade connecting means and adapted to be positioned in proximity to either of said boxes.

7. A surgical instrument comprising oppositely disposed boxes each provided with oppositely disposed guides, a reciprocable blade movable in the guides of each box, a bar connecting said boxes, a carrier upon which said blades are detachably mounted,

linger member on said bar, and a reversible l thumb member` pivotally mounted on said carrier.

thereofe'ach provided with a fenestra, a reciprocable member` coacting With said bar the ends of which member are'adapted to be Y moved across Vsaid fenestrae, and an arm mountedon said member and adapted to be positioned in proximity to eitherV end of said bar and engaged by the thumb of the operator.

9. A surgical instrument comprising an elongated bar, provided with finger loops intermediate its ends, structures at opposite ends of said barreach provided With a fenestra, a reciprocable member coacting With said Vbar the ends of Which member are adapted to be moved across said fenestrae, and a thumb-engaging device carried by said member whereby said device may be 'operated at either end.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, this 15th day of January, 1918.

BURDETTE D. LA FORCE.

Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, Jr., H. SLACK. 4

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q. 

